“The most important person you will ever lead is yourself.” – John C. Maxwell
As John C. Maxwell said, the most important person you will ever lead is yourself. Before we start to think about leading others or if we want to improve how we’re leading others, we need to learn how to lead ourselves first. Let’s explore the importance of self-leadership and how it can help you become a better leader.
Elements of Self-Leadership
At the core of what leadership is all about is leading ourselves.
If I were to put self leadership into one simple statement, it’s probably this – how well do you follow through on the commitments you make to yourself and live in congruence with your own stated values and goals?
Who we are inside matters, as it drives what happens on the outside and thus impacts others around us. Hence, we must master this inner game. When you say you’re going to do something, do it.
The Importance of Vision and Clarity
In a team or organization, leaders need to clarify the vision and the reasons behind it.
In our own lives, too few people even spend time crafting a vision for their personal lives. Their goals and dreams are diminished or nonexistent, or they just feel out of reach.
Create a vision for yourself, and use that as a driving force to create a vision as a leader for others. If not, why would anyone want to follow you?
Rating Your Level of Self-Leadership
Take a moment right now and give yourself a simple rating of self-leadership on a scale of 1-5.
Here are a few questions you might consider asking yourself to complete the rating:
- Have you identified your core values? Do you usually live by them?
- How often do you keep commitments you make to yourself?
- Do you have a vision for your life and who you want to become? Are you taking actions that will make that a reality?
- Do you like yourself? Right here and now, not just waiting for something to happen in the future?
Figuring out where you land in relation with these questions can help you identify areas you have opportunity to improve in your self leadership.
Seeking Help from a Leadership Expert
This work is hard to do on our own and we all need some help. A leadership and career development expert can help you learn how to identify those things that are important to you and then start taking action to move toward those goals.
Reach out to me and we can talk about the next steps to becoming the leader you are meant to be – for yourself, and others.
Watch more in the video below:
Accelerate Your Career
If you’re ready to accelerate your career and leadership further and want some help doing it, here are a few ways I can help when you’re ready:
- Watch a FREE Engineering Career Masterclass – the 4 Keys to Intentional Engineering Career Transitions
- Enroll in the Engineering Career Accelerator – the exact system that hundreds of engineers have used to go from confused to thriving in their careers.
- Schedule a free call with me to talk about getting personalized 1:1 and group support on your goals.
